GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
When LSU coach Brian Kelly watches tape of Vanderbilt, he sees Navy, Army and Air Force.
The Commodores’ battlecry is the nautical “Anchor Down,” and buttoned up, shaved-head coach Clark Lea runs a program that is the epitome of discipline.
Vanderbilt’s triple-option running attack with quarterback Diego Pavia and running back Sedrick Alexander is 23rd in the nation with 208.7 yards a game. The Commodores are 19th in total offense with 467.5 a game behind the dual-threat Pavia.
Navy, by the way, leads the nation in rushing with 305 yards a game and is 6-0 on the season – 4-0 in the American Conference. Army (3-3, 2-2 American) is No. 2 with 282.7 a game, and Air Force (1-5, 0-4 Mountain West) is third with 276 a game. Vanderbilt is also No. 2 in the nation in third-down conversions at 57 percent (33 of 57).
LSU will need this guy’s wits to contain Diego Pavia in Nashville on Saturday:https://t.co/yDCcvU7tZ3
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) October 16, 2025
Needless to say, No. 10 LSU (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) will have to anchor down itself somewhat to match at least some of Vanderbilt’s discipline to come away from Nashville with a win over the Commodores (5-1, 1-1 SEC) on Saturday (11 a.m., ABC). And that will be an early reveille.
LSU is an underdog against Vanderbilt (1.5 points) for the first time since LSU lost, 48-7, at Vanderbilt in 1948 when the Commodores finished No. 12 in the nation at 8-2-1. The Tigers ended at 3-7.
LSU PREPPED FOR DIEGO PAVIA AGAINST SOUTH CAROLINA QB LANORRIS SELLERS
“The first thing I said to the team was, ‘We’re playing Navy. We’re playing triple-option,'” LSU coach Brian Kelly said Thursday of his meeting with the Tigers on Monday. “You have to do your job. If you don’t do your job, they’re going to rip off a big play.”
Kelly grew accustomed to playing the service academies while Notre Dame’s coach from 2010-21. In his first season in South Bend, Indiana, he lost to Navy, 35-17, at The Meadowlands in East Rutheford, New Jersey, in an 8-5 season. He won the next five against Navy and finished 9-2 in the series before coming to LSU before the 2022 season. He was also 2-0 apiece against Army and Air Force.
“This is matching our traits with our talent,” Kelly said. “You can’t go in there and say, ‘I’m just going to out-talent Vanderbilt.’ They’re going to beat you. If we say, ‘We’re going to follow our traits, our discipline, our details. We’re going to play smart, and bring our talent,’ now, we’re in much better position.”
Vanderbilt also is disciplined on defense. Lea was Kelly’s defensive coordinator at Notre Dame from 2018-20. The Commodores are No. 16 in the nation against the run with 90.8 yards allowed a game. In turnover margin, the Commodores are No. 29 with 10 takeaways and six giveaways.
“It’s fundamentally sound – all gaps, coverages,” Kelly said. “They keep the ball in front of them. They’re just stingy because they’re so disciplined in what they do and how they do it. And they repeat that every single time. It’s not like, ‘OK, we can get a shot over their head this time. Or, they’re going to cut the B gap move.’ They’re just so consistent in what they do.”
LSU, on the other hand, is not adept at the service academy game. The Tigers are No. 112 in the nation and last in the SEC in rushing offense with 115 yards a game. They are 48th in turnover margin with 20 takeaways and eight giveaways, 59th in third-down conversions at 41 percent (32 of 77) and 77th in total offense with 373.5 yards a game.
The Tigers have been winning with defense, which is No. 21 in the nation against the run with 102.5 yards allowed a game. And they are more talented.
But Kelly has warned his team about going to Vanderbilt thinking, “OK, we’ve got better players,” he said. “And I could argue that in some places, they have better players than we do.”
WHIT WEEKS INJURY UPDATE
LSU star junior linebacker Whit Weeks did not aggravate his ankle injury from the Texas Bowl last season in the win over South Carolina on Saturday night. He missed spring practice with a fractured ankle suffered in that win over Baylor in the Texas Bowl.
““Whit Weeks has got ankle bone bruise,” Kelly said on his radio show Thursday night. “It’s not the old injury. It’s a new injury. That’s one where you’ve just got to take it to game day and see how that goes.”
Weeks is listed as questionable for Saturday.
NEW DEFENSIVE LINE STARTER
With starting defensive tackle Bernard Gooden (bruised collarbone) doubtful for Saturday, Kelly said that true freshman Walter Mathis Jr. may start or play a lot if Gooden can’t go. Mathis has played in all six of LSU’s games in the rotation and has seven tackles with a pass breakup.
“He’s done a really nice job for us stepping in,” Kelly said on his radio show Thursday night. “He’ll have to step in if Bernard can’t go.”
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